Empirical Corporate Finance (in English)

You should have bachelor-level knowledge of microeconomics, corporate finance and econometrics. You are expected to be able to do some regression analysis using Stata, SAS, or another software you desire. It is a research-oriented course. Thus, it involves a great deal of literature reading and writing.    

Fundamental mathematical and statistical concepts (such as those covered in

• Mathématiques avancées et fondements d'économétrie [ LECGE1337 ])
• computational finance  [LLSMS2224]    
• Advanced Finance [LLSMS2100A or LLSMS2100B  or LLSMS2100]

This course provides a comprehensive overview of the empirical methods used in corporate finance research. It is taught primarily through lectures, readings and in-class discussions. We will review literature on empirical corporate finance, and discuss the econometric tools used by researchers.

Upon completion of this course, students are expected to complete the following key tasks:

1. Have a good understanding of major topics in corporate finance;
2. Have a good understanding of business ethical values;
3. Understand the intuition behind the econometric methods and be able to apply them;

Upon completion of this course, students are expected to develop the following capabilities:

1. Corporate citizenship;
2. Communication and Interpersonal skills;
3. Critical thinking skills;

A scientific and systematic approach.

The contribution of this Teaching Unit to the development and command of the skills and learning outcomes of the programme(s) can be accessed at the end of this sheet, in the section entitled “Programmes/courses offering this Teaching Unit”.

You will be evaluated based on three components according to the following weights. The instructor reserves the right to modify the weightings to adjust for more or less material covered during the semester.

• Participation and In-Class Discussions : 5%
• Assignments : 30%
• Research Proposal : 65%

The following topics will be covered:

1. Introduction to corporate finance
2. Corporate ownership structure
3. Capital structure
4. Corporate diversification and focus
5. Corporate investment
6. The market for corporate control